Monday, September 24, 2012

The de facto ceasefire between the M23 and the Congolese government continues to hold. When asked why a senior Congolese operational commander said simply: "We have not received orders to attack." However, several thousand troops have been sent to the East in the past two months, along with heavy weaponry and tanks, and there are signs that the government could attack soon.

In the meantime, the M23 is sitting tight, recruiting and training soldiers and working on its ties with other groups. While it has been able to make tentative alliances in some unexpected quarters - the Raia Mutomboki in southern Masisi, for example, or with Albert Kahasha's UPCP in southern Lubero - it has not had much luck with its more traditional allies in the Hutu and Banyamulenge communities. Those alliances, which had formed the backbone of the Congolese Rally for Democracy (RCD) between 1998-2003, began fraying during the early days of the CNDP and have never recovered. The Hutu leadership around former North Kivu Governor Eugene Serufuli, for example, is viewed with mistrust in Kigali and by the M23, as they had defected from Laurent Nkunda's CNDP in 2005-2006, hamstringing his movement. Until now, the M23 has only included minor members of the Hutu military and political elites - Erasto Ntibaturana (a local chief from Masisi), Col. Edmond "Saddam" Ringo (a former PARECO commander), Sendugu Museveni (the disgraced former PARECO president), Lt Col Vianney Kazarama (the former military spokesperson of South Kivu).

In the Banyamulenge community, the M23 have been even less successful. Until recently, there were only several, relatively unknown Banyamulenge officers in the M23. The few senior Banyamulenge who had been in the CNDP - Col Eric Ruohimbere, Col Eric Bizimana were the highest-ranking - are dismissive of the M23, and there never were any respected civilian leaders from their community who had joined.

That may be changing slowly. On September 17, a small
coalition of Fuliro and Banyamulenge soldiers, some of whom had just been
recruited in Rwanda, attacked the Luberizi army camp south of Bukavu, making
away with a sizeable stash of weapons and ammunition. The attack was carried out by Lt Col Bede Rusagara, an ex-CNDP officer from the Fuliro community, who has been bolstered by a succession battle surrounding the customary chiefdom of the Rundi in the Rusizi Plain. But Bede was accompanied by Nkingi Muhima, a Munyamulenge commander (and former assistant to Col Michel Rukunda) who defected from the Congolese army in July, as well as several very young Banyamulenge who had just been recruited in Rwanda. According to numerous sources in this community, pressure is increasing on youths, especially those living in Rwanda, to join this new rebellion. In mobilization meetings, they are reportedly told that their community is in danger, that massacres are being committed against their relatives in the Congo. While for the most part, the Banyamulenge community in the Congo appears reluctant to join another armed insurrection - the past AFDL and RCD rebellion have brewed distrust against Rwanda, which many believe is behind the M23 rebellion - it has also suffered several attacks by Mai-Mai militia in recent months, costing hundreds of head of cattle and several lives. While some of the Banyamulenge leaders conspiratorially told me they think these attacks are supposed to drive them into the arms of the M23 rebellion, at the end of the day, the logic of fear could trump distrust toward Rwanda. It is too soon to tell, and Nkingi's group is still very small, but time is on the rebels' side. The longer the ceasefire lasts, the weakener and more indecisive Kinshasa will look, and the more time the M23 rebels will have to rally more soldiers and politicians to their side.

Apparently there was new fighting in Rutshuru yesterday,The Fardc retreated. http://www.newvision.co.ug/news/635547-1-000-refugees-enter-uganda.htmlThe day before, there was a protest by young fellas in Goma.Unfortunately,the police beat them up.I personally don't get it:- We are retreating- The gov is telling the whole world to cut ties with Rwanda but the same gov is doing business with Rwanda,the borders are open, ambassadors are in post,etchttp://fr.allafrica.com/stories/201209240937.htmlI will like to know what's the logic here?Sticking to "you have to punish Rwanda for us" is not a strategy by himself. The IC is waiting for a solution from the gov. I'm afraid the gov is disingenuous.That what is explaining why people are not running to enroll.Let's wait for the 27, my bet is that we will have a black eye after the UNGA.

Your conclusion is " The longer the ceasefire lasts, the weakener and more indecisive Kinshasa will look, and the more time the M23 rebels will have to rally more soldiers and politicians to their side." Basically Jason is calling for the government to resume fighting. The timing is not that innocent; UN and AU both have called for a political settlements of this standoff in North Kivu. Three months down the road, another million displaced civilians will add to the current half a million. Rifts between communities(now he has added the BaFulero vs BaRundi into this mess) will be even bigger. At the end, Great lakes will be that ripe fruit to be picked easily by the powerful consortium of oil companies.These are the "experts" imposed upon our region, and I can predict that Kinshasa will follow the advices from Jason.

@ GisaI think that's far from the truth.The author is reporting the feeling of the people on the ground: there is a ceasefire but the government doesn't want to negotiate.Now people are asking what is the reason of this ceasefire?Hence the logic conclusion: if the government is respecting the ceasefire,it has to negotiate.Or the government doesn't want to negotiate.That means the hostilities will resume.We already see on the ground that the hostilities started.And it's mot innocent either,the M23 is making it presence felt in regard with the mini summit of new york on the 27(two days from now).About those bafulero,another source was reporting the same thing. It's an information, we have to analyse and compare notes to solve the puzzle.http://alexengwete.blogspot.com/2012/09/burundian-army-sources-rwanda-setting.html?utm_source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=twitter

The West supports Rebels serving their interests, think of Angola,think of Ivory Coast,think of Libya.What's interesting is that in Congo, the UN backed Mobutu's CIA&Belgium backed to come to power,overthrowing a Leader elected by the People,Patrice Lumumba.

What the West is doing is stirring up hatred,violence,so as for the West to come as 'liberators' in the region...full of resources!

I went back and read this article. No where Jason is making an assertion to a peaceful resolution. From the start, he shows how FARDC are ready, and well prepared for a fight and only the Commander in Chief is holding them from finishing the job.

" senior Congolese operational commander said simply: "We have not received orders to attack." However, several thousand troops have been sent to the East in the past two months, along with heavy weaponry and tanks, and there are signs that the government could attack soon."

And then he conclude by " The longer the ceasefire lasts, the weakener and more indecisive Kinshasa will look, and the more time the M23 rebels will have to rally more soldiers and politicians to their side. "May be I missed it, but i can't find any paragraph or phrase with this logic: " if the government is respecting the ceasefire,it has to negotiate. "The whole logic in the article is " You know what your forces are ready, go now and fight or else tomorrow your enemy will take over. "

Frankly, Jason's view could be easily ignored; but knowing his connections within Kinshasa government and its military, I give you a few weeks and FARDC will be in a full scale offensive. The irony is that Jason knows well what will be the outcome; M23 did not stop its advances because they were exhausted. I readily predict the generalization of fighting in all Grand Kivu and Katanga. Goma, Bukavu, Kindu, Beni and Bunia are definitely going to fall within days. And a humanitarian catastrophe will unfold. And trust me, that is what some folks out there are eager to see happening.

I invite you to watch this documentary: The then Col. James Kabarebe explains how he mobilised and commanded forces that overthrew Mobutu.The whole thing is hillalious on how Kabila and co. behaved during and after the struggle.The young, inteligent colonel Kabarebe was frustrated at seeing lumpens taking over, he warned Kabila about the danger of putting power in hands of these lumpens. Actually congo has not changed ever since

war and bloodshed are all a good combination of business opportunities for Banks,arms dealers,and eventually,minerals and oil corporations,the best way to achieve success for them is to divide and rule Africans,period:

Either Jason has literaly little knowledge of the tribes of that region or simply enjoys writing contradictory articles on his blog.One moment he is like the m23 are ex CNDP who are the Tutsi of the Rwandan origin known as Banyamulenge on the other sise he is like the Banyamulenge are reluctant to join the m23.So who are the M23? which tribes compose M23? Are they the Tutsi kinyarwanda speaking congolese who are supported by Rwanda?If that is true why then would the Banyamulenge feel reluctant to join M23 yet thy are deemed as their own.Does Jason and co have any crue about that region as they so claim/ Dont think so.

On monday night, 4 people were killed in a little café near La Frontière hotel in Goma. People were sharing a beer when gunmen stormed the café and killed four civilians. The café's owner, a mother of more than 3 children was among the casualties. The attack bore all the hallmarks of M23, CNDP or whatever Rwanda proxy militia : Indiscriminate killing of civilians, including women and/or children; use of light vehicle for troops transportation ; a political or military motivation for the assassination (it seems that a congolese working for the ANR and who refused to work with these evils was the main target).As expected, none will talk of that specific tragedy : the victims were not tutsi.Our thoughts and prayers are with our brothers in Kivu who have been betrayed by their corrupted president, their corrupted military commanders, Rwanda's army through its proxies and the whole international community. It is obvious that this attack is the beginning of more suffering for Kivu people. For sure, in the coming weeks M23 will launch a very big offensive around Goma. After all, their discussions with the Nyatura militia seems to be working.

@JuneBanyamulenge are from the south kivu,banyarwanda are in the north kivu. The cndp was composed in majority by banyarwanda(mostly tutsi and some hutu).Looks like the fuliro community is a sub branch of the banyamulenge.People indistinctly mix up the names,they may have a common purpose but their motivations are different.@ Gisa,you are giving 2 much credit 2 Jason's influence in Kin. Pres Kabila has his own advisers and plans, there is a government on one side and there are matters that the pres alone manage on the other side. The military is one of them.I don't think the logic you advance is accurate since on the ground, not latter than yesterday, the M23 took the initiative of combats and took over 3 villages. It's an Uganda paper that reported it(see my previous link).Beside,they are lining themselves with dangerous people like Lanfontaine, a serial rapist.I don't see the basis of your predictions,from what I know those alliances will be short lived and won't bring peace in the Kivus.I keep asking you a question: if the M23 movement is the response of the struggle from the people of Kivus, why in this case the majority of people(500,000 at the latest count) are running away from them?Are they all stupids?Another question: What will you think if our government start giving eulogies to the Fdlr?Will you not conclude that our gov is supporting the Fdlr? That what's your officials are doing.I personally believe there was several ways for the M23 to make their voice heard.Taking arms wasn't one of them.In all military in the world,a soldier can't refuse to execute an order even if he is right,that's a fact.Now people are less concern about their grievances then putting an end to that farce.What are they achieving now beside reviving old antagonisms?

1. Let me first correct you, Bafulero are not a sub branch of Banyamulenge. The Bafulero are closely related to the Bavira and Babembe.They are the arch-enemies of Banyamulenge and Barundi, two tribes they consider not "autochtones". Actually there is an ongoing territory dispute between the Barundi and Bafulero which dates back from the 60's.

2.On Jason and others self-proclaimed western "experts" on Great Lakes Region, it is not a secret that most high profile congolese politicians and intelligence officials, casually share information and " strategic Analysis" of the situation in the great lakes.Without use of prototypes, "the old school" politicians in Kinshasa(those who developed their careers in Mobutu era or hold PhD's from Belgium and France) are very sensitive on what they call " les signaux venant de Washington, Bruxeless, Paris et Londres".So Jason is one of the sources where they ponder what is the" West" positioning vis-a-vis DRC. The euphoria you saw in Kinshasa in June and July, when some were singing victory before the end of the war, was a result of misguided opinion from those circles.Since the death of Mr. Katumba Mwanke, described by those who knew him as someone pragmatic and with his feet on ground, added to the de facto political "death" of General John Numbi, Pres. Kabila hasn't found replacements. Two or three "factions" are trying to get control. That may explain what you described as "flip flop" and indecisiveness from the commander in chief. The latest I have from Kin is that the " katangese" faction are eager to broke a deal with M23 at whatever cost. They advised the president to be careful about deploying the core Garde republicaine away from Kinshasa or Lubumbashi, as they know they are in danger of losing it all. They believe Matata's faction made of Kivutiens and Kassaiens are up to a plan to weaken their grip on power.

3. My predictions are based on what many analysts have described as " FARDC's (the government army) incapability to resist the rebels' advance". You can look at the Roger Meece briefing given to the security council on the 30th July 2012.

4. I am yet to be convinced that M23 has formed any alliance with Raia Mutomboki(RM) , knowing the RM's hatred of whatever has a combination of letters RWA, let alone rwandaphones. Anyway a question I may ask: why M23 and Raia Mutomboki haven't yet officially announced their coalition?Strategically thinking this will give M23 acceptance within other tribes in north and south Kivu.

5. People are fleeing because they are told to do so by local authorities. Those who try to resist are forced by FARDC; they engage in large scale looting and firing shorts in the air before retreating. Read all the accounts whenever a certain village is about to fall. Population are used by the government as human shield, to allow them raise attention from the international community. I think they learned that game from Interahamwe; they used the same strategy during their flight in 1994.

6. I agree with you on the last point; there is no fitting military solution to M23 grievances. But remember Makenga and his group resolve to use the guns when meditation failed(ref Gen. James Kabarebe interview with C.Braeckman).

@Eole

"The attack bore all the hallmarks of M23, .., use of light vehicle for troops transportation ". Do you mean M23 are circulating in Goma with armored vehicles?I think you are deliberately creating confusion.

@ Gisa,1.Thank you for the correction, I was tentatively trying to diffuse the confusion from @June.With 400 tribes,it's hard to get it right all thetime specially is you are not a native,but that say, it doesn't take away my concern for the well being of the Kivu's people.Territories disputes are a common occurrence worldwide, it's the way people resolve it that make the difference.In that regard, I always try to be very careful about the narrative of both parties in a conflict,the stakes being high, temptation is even higher to demonize the other.2.Let's call those "casual information" and " strategic Analysis" an informal version of pres. Kagame's Presidential Advisory Council (PAC).http://www.paulkagame.com/2010/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=791%3Apresidential-advisory-council-meets-in-boston&catid=36%3Anews&Itemid=71&lang=en

http://rwandinfo.com/eng/rwanda-presidential-advisory-council-members-meet-in-kigali/A quite fascinating initiative, I will have to concede, there is nothing wrong about taking advice from westerners. The problem is not the advice but what 1 does with it.I rarely disagree with our host analysis and trust me his reasoning is not the logic pres Kabila is following.Those clans infighting are quite common in a long reign,it's probably difficult for pres Kabila to fend them all off,it's relatively younger age may explain that as well. It's true that Katumba was an asset for the president.It's also true that he didn't help he made himself 2 indispensable to be replace. I've been telling some members of the pres circle to get someone like Thabo Mbeki to fill the void.i believe that to be successful,one has to surround himself with successful people.3.My take is that it won't be possible without Rwanda's openly supporting those rebels.There was a good reason Cndp was confined in the NK: supply routes.Without the support of locals they won't make it out of the Kivus.(more boots on the ground).4.RM is quite a mystery now.Seems that there are splinter groups that are taking this cover name.So,I'm not sure but the M23 is trying to stretch the Fardc for sure.They(M23) are allied with Lafontaine.5.There is no evidence to support these allegations.In the contrary,there is plenty of evidences to assert that when the Fardc withdraw,they will probably do some looting,change into civilian clothes and run.I never heard Fardc taking civilians with them.(Cfr Bunagana).Those people live there,give them credit for their common sense and experience.It's fear from the M23 that make them run for their life.Believe that,I know the feeling,I felt it in Moba.6.Makenga was talking 4 the soldiers,how about his community?Did they have a say on that?Do you believe the RDF will have allow such thing?Even if their grievances were legitimate:a.they were soldiers hence had to obey ordersb.they had opportunities to call on the mediator c.they could have quit the army.

to Num 5: "never heard of FARDC taking civilians"...mh, have you ever lived long enough in the north kivus to see how FARDC behaves even through peace times ????? ( and we dont just talk about the "integrated" ones...). I have and i have to say, the M23 are not necessarily the good buys but the FARDC ( in its current existence ) is surely neither. There is plenty of abuses, abductions, rapes, looting etc. going around to keep all armed groups ( INCLUDING FARDC ) quite happy.

@ Marc hoferDon't take me wrong,I'm not saying the Fardc are behaving like angel as the GoE may allude us to believe. From a personal experience and numerous reports about the abuse in the East,I can attest of the commitment of all those inexcusable acts even in "peaceful" area like Kisangani(gazing a primary school!!!)However, What I was disputing was the characterization of Fardc (from @Gisa) using civilians as human shield like the ex Far. I personally never heard Fardc behaving at such.When they run,they don't look back.Correct me if I'm wrong.My question was simple: why are those people running away from M23 if this movement is better than the alternative(Fardc/Government).

Lets start;According to western analysists1- CNDP-composed of Tutsis of the Kivus who have ties to Tutsi led govt and that there4 an obvious support.2-M23 former CNDP which was Tutsi dominated led by Laurent Nkundi and supported by Rwanda and there4 also they (M23) getting support form kigali since kigali is a Tutsi led govt so it is obvious that they wld support their own.3-Tutsis of the Kivus or the Rwandaphones as they like to call them include the Banyamulenge of which form CNDP fought to protect.The common denomination in these 3 scenerios is that they are all Tutsis,right? and that automatically atleast according to western so called experts makes the allies.QTN:If Former CNDP,M23,Tutsi tribes have been thought to be all allies how then does Jason come up with a statement like " Banyamulenge are reluctant to join M23"How is that possible yet you have always accused them to be all the same Tuitsis allied to the Tutsi dominated govt across the border Rwanda?How can Banyamulenge feel reluctant to join/support their sons?Whats with the contradictions? Is Jason barking away from his old theories of M23 =Former CNDP=Kivu Tutsis with the Rwandan origin=Tutsi dominated Govt of KGL.According to Jason's articles there has been the anti-Tutsi hype in eastern DRC especially the wake of the M23,he himself wrote that there had been killings of the Bnayamulenges killed bse of the existance of M23 which wld make sense if you believed the tribalistic/ethinic theories of which westerners based their assessments of the probs of eastern DRC.And now that there is division btn the Banyamulenge and their sons in M23? Was there any unity in the 1st case any way? Or should we say yr conclusions were baseless .

On population displacements in Kivu, we can continue this sterile debate,each sticking to their position. I have talked to a number of people who are in these camps; they mention the scenario I cited previously as the reason why they left their homes. Even today they are under a lot of pressure from government representatives and the FARDC; who ever tries to leave the camps and return to their farms are at the risk of being qualified as pro-M23. Do you know who are populating those IDP's camps? Above 95% of these displaced people are rwandophones.Truth has always been the first causality of any war. In North Kivu, false testimonies have become institutionalized. The civil society and local administrators work hand in hand in a propaganda war to "fabricate" false testimonies. From the camps,people are trained and paid to give false testimonies to "bazungu". The aim being to demonize M23 movement. These testimonies are reported in media outlets , and form the core of many organization's reports. Foreign journalists who were embedded with M23 while advancing toward Rutshuru and other villages had given a totally different first hand account compared to what we read in news agencies; news agencies often cite "Monusco or diplomatic" sources. You can guess who is feeding those "sources" with the information.

There is a suspicious tendency from Monusco and other human rights organizations to only inform the world about M23, and the war gravitating near the Rwandan border. How many on this blog know for example that the battle rages in Katanga none stop since June 2012? More than 80,000 people are displaced,and not later than yesterday 27th Sep 2012, an other 20,000 were displaced to Pweto from the territories of Kabwe Sungu, Kampangwe, Kato and Mutendele. Of course this is not news to sell and won't make your report sensational ; it is happening 1000 miles away from scapegoat "Rwanda".

This OCHA report for the first half of September 2012, shows regions as far as Equateur are prone to rebel movements:

95%?What's an extraordinary number!Do you know the ethnic composition of the NK?(tot pop,pop by ethny,etc).That's the only way to estimate.How many camps you visited?Where were they located? How many people you talked to?I can easily picture people threatened to be pro-m23 if they want to leave but I have hard time to believe the Fardc will take some hostages with them.My reason?We are assuming here that the M23 will care about civilians casualities, I don't think any of those groups(rebels or Fardc) give a hoot abt the population.You should check out this article about "numbers in the Kivu" http://www.ua.ac.be/objs/00111070.pdfWhy other groups are under reported(not ignored but under reported),it's simple :history.Based on old patterns,media know that those movements are going no where but a Rwanda support go a long way. Rwanda stroked in 1996, invoking the Fdlr= regime change.It did it again in 1998,invoking ethnic discrimination = 1 pres dead,Country halves. It seems to do it again in 2003 with the Cndp. Now,you guys are encouraging the M23.Why are you surprised that people are pointing fingers?So everybody is bought off in Congo,they probably mutilate themselves for a couple of 10 bucks.Seriously?Here is an analysis from one of your ally:http://www.cablegatesearch.net/cable.php?id=09KINSHASA388

@ June SinaThe BANYAMULEBGE are the inhabitants of the MULENGE hills in the South KIVU province .most of the are Tutsi who originated from BURUNDI but not RWANDA .THE M 23 terrorists group is comprised by some former CNDP rebels who are all Tutsi from NORTH KIVU , Former Rwandan Hutu rebels,new recruis who are mostly Child soldiers,and Rwandan Soldiers.this m23 movement was formed by wanted war criminal BOSCO NTAGANDA who is also a Rwansese tutsi from NORTH KIVU but not a NYAMULENGE from south KIVU.JASON STERN is 100% correct . The BANYAMULENGE are in south KIVU and have nothing to do with the M23 terrorists. I think you know this but you are just trying to mislead those who do not understand this region and also falsely attempting to discredit Mr JASON STERN who has proven to be the best expert of this region and who I think deserve an award for his hard work .

it looks like Congolese have adopted South Africa 'makwele kwele' racist attitude on their own fellow citizens,pure xenophobia and paranoia that Burundi,Rwanda,Uganda plan to 'annex' North and South Kivu:

One simple question to Jason Stearns: what right do u have as a white man from USA to speak on behalf of africans? Stop fueling tension in kivus. Your work and that of your coleagues such as Steve Hege are the main cause of trouble in the Great lakes region. Your most recent article is a good example of this. Every article or reports you guys serve no one in the region except yourselves. In fact, they smell arrogance, patronage as if Africans cannot speak for themeselves.

Honestly, I think there is some kind of panic in your circle as some leaders in the Great lakes region have decided to grab the DRC issue from your hands. The International Conference on the Great Lakes Region (CIRGEL) is slowly but surely taking over the issue and you are not happy as shown in your article. In your article, you try to insite FARDC to attack M23 to stop them consolidating and making more alliances. Africa does not need ill intended people like you. You and your colleagues, HRW,.. pretend to speak for the victims but in reality, you are there to make sure the true roots of the conflict in EAST DRC are not removed. People like you should not be allowed to open an office in Africa, and I beleieve your office in Nairobi will close in the near future thanks to CIRGL's action. You should not call yourselves political analysts, you are rather true mercernaries of tragedies in Africa

Well, not all people run away from M23 though. Actually the behind frontlines look much better (in the numbers) then they did when CNDP was in charge. Its not all rosy though and you can feel that the M23 runs a fairly tight ship, so its hard to get good and reliable statements out of people. They are afraid...to a certain extend. But aknowledge that not all is bad at the same time. In general people dont really have a choice, do they. Its between the rock and a hard place. Govt is not doing what they are suppose to do and M23 in its current form is not an answer either. I guess the average congolese in the area is already happy if he is left alone.If you are a north-kivu inhabitant the direction you should run in the end doesnt matter. You can go to the IDP camps close to Goma, which is slowly developing into something "not so nice" ( it is already heading in the wrong direction ) or you can try your luck with M23.

@ marc hofer ty marc,I rather have a blunt assessment of the situation than some fantasies which only fuel more resentments. Like I told @Gisa,all is not black and write,but more likely grey.As in Kenya or South Africa,politicians are playing with people fears. Others are out there to settle scores.At the end of the day,there is no winner.

North Kivu(NK) is populated with 5 millions people and 1.2 million of them are rwandophones. Out of 6 territories of North Kivu, 3 have a majority of rwandophones:- Rutshuru- Masisi- Nyiragongo

The statistics of 1992,just before the National conference, put the number of rwandophones in North Kivu at 900,000(25% of NK population). Due to lack of official statistics since middle 1990's in Zaire, erroneous estimates are sometime used to advance the agenda of exclusion of Rwandophones.But there is one undeniable truth: all names of villages and hills in those 3 localities are derived from Kinyarwanda. The IDPs camps in NK I am referring to are : Kanyarucinya, Kibati, Mugunga and Kiwandja,...

Let me give numbers of IDPs in DRC from OCHA and every one will judge if the whole campaign against M23 is driven by humanitarian concerns:

@ ReberoIf I was you, I would Stage a coup within M23 and hand over all the bad apples to the international community, and then return to Kigali to write a book on Rwandaphone. Otherwise, the way things stand, you're wasting your time hanging around those nasty criminals.Urunva sha???

It has been instructive to see the exchange of speculations/rumors/fantasies by the Kagamist lot on this thread. Now one understands why hatred and violence are endemic in Rwanda and Burundi, and the nefarious effort to export it into the Kivus. People spread rumors, wishes and hunches that they call “analyses”; “analyses” my foot!

Now lets kill one such wish/fantasy. To those who are eagerly awaiting the balkanization or secessions in Congo, be disappointed because it ain’t gonna happen. Here is the objective reason why:

(1)The size of Congo and the diversity of its people (which some see as its weakness) is in fact its biggest strength. All provinces in Congo are just geographical coincidences; except Bas-ongo to some extent, none constitutes a homogenously cultural, religious, ethnical, racial, linguistic distinctive entity. You don’t have for example cases like South Sudan (religious and racial differences), or Catalonia in Spain, Tibet in China or Kurdistan in Irak and Turkey. In other words, adjectives like Kivutian, Kasain or Kantagais refer to geographical location rather than any real distinctive common identity of culture/language/religion…

(2)However the economic tensions there is are found in many countries with more endowed provinces (Niger Delta in Nigeria, Bavaria in Germany, Catalonia in Spain…). In the Congo case, the solution is the “Decentralisation” and the application of 40% revenues retrocession to provinces. So by next year, decentralization will lead to 24 more manageable provinces, there will be no Katanga, Equateur or Kasai to secede.

PAUL KAGAME strormed out a united nations meeting after he was confronted by the French UN ambassador and the secretary general to stop arming and financing his M23 terrorists. The EU has also blocked It's aid package to RWANDA and the UN is soon going to impose sanctions on the PAUL KAKAME dictatorship. I don't know for how long PAUL KAGAME and his JUNTA thinks that they can continue do defie the international Community and get away with it ? The RWANDAN Dictator needs to understand that his planned annexation of Congolese territories is doomed ,his M2 terrorist movement is also a doomed movement .if PAUL KAGAME thinks that his tiny impoverished dictatorship that relies on western handouts has the wright to invade its neighbors,aid and finance terrorists,harbour wanted war criminals .....he is fooling himself.

the likes of Jason Stearns,Steve Hege are more keen to promote a divide and rule type of 'academic' and 'media' reports. Former Zaire (current DRC) continue to be manipulated by the West to butcher fellow Africans, just as they were manipulated by the UN,Belgium and US to butcher Panafricanist Patrice Lumumba, Congolese have become the most xenophobic Africans in the Great Lakes,and Jason Stearns is surely helping them to deepen division among African Great Lakes citizens!

Of course, you know exactly what I mean by “Rwanda and Burundi export their endemic hatred, gratuitous violence and shall I add rape into Congo”. In the last 50 years despite inter-Congolese feuds, Congolese/Zairois never experienced these odious things until the fatidic advent of Kagame. Since then, it is HELL for Congolese people in the Kivus. Kagamist militias of RCD-CNDP-M3 are periodically launched from Rwanda, Kagamist death squads of FDLR are recycled in Rwanda and pumped into Congo, Tutsi-refugee camps in Rwanda are emptied of kids sent to be eternal child soldiers in Congo. The attempt to fabricate some threat to Tutsis in Congo has dismally failed…

@ Congoman

Kagame storming out of the UNSC meeting is very telling to all in the IC. It shows a liar who is out of lies, a cowardly fellow who runs away from rather than face the TRUTH about this conflict. It also shows how intolerant this man is.

Indeed, Kagame has infected his worshipers with the virus of intolerance, look how they savagely attack Jason Stearns for giving all this platform to make their cases.

@ muana congo, you live in your own world of lies and deceit, we know well who is encouraging you to make allegations against Rwanda, you are simply genocide deniers and negationists, a bunch of hate campaigners like Iran President (by the way,DRC's Minister Mende close allies).And for your ICC that deliberately protects FDLR:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-16227154

Continue dancing in the glory of the monsters that seek to demonise Rwanda, you can get all powers you can find, but mark my words, God is still God!

In 1965,1969,Congolese,Tanzanians,Burundi Hutu militias teamed up to butcher Tutsis in South of Burundi,just like they did in August 2004 in Gatumba (Burundi) genocide against Banyamulenge!!!

The rapists and genocide criminals (FDLR,Ex Far,interahamwe) you have always supported on your soil is what brought curse on your land,the special treatement you continue to provide to FDLR,i.e:by moving them to Katanga,or integrating them into FARDC,etc. all of that will bring shame and calamity on your soil!

@mwana Congo Thanks, you are 100% correct ,we Congolese people do not have the MACHETTI culture like our neighbor next door (Rwanda) Throughout our history all the 400+ tribes that makes up the great CONGO have lived together in peace and Harmony .PAUL KAGAME has tried to export this barbaric culture to our Country but he has failed .he sent wanted War Criminals BOSCO NTAGANDA and LAURENT NKUNDA to the ITURI region to start an inti ethnic massacre between the HEMA (tutsis) and the lendu ,but he failed . PAUL KAGAME and his JUNTA are the roots to all the problems in the great lakes.before PAUL KAGAME and his FPR war criminals invaded Rwanda ,there was peace in that Country,before PAUL KAGAME invaded CONGO there was also peace in Congo .peace will only be sustained in this region if this dictator and war Criminal PAUL KAGAME is contained or removed from power .like ADOLF HITLER ,PAUL KAGAME has also proven to be v ery bloody PSYCHO leader who does not believe in peace ,KAGAMEs 19 years reign has only brought death and destruction to the great lakes and this is the reason why his bloody reign of terror has to end as soon as possible. This dictator is storming out of important meetings because he has no excuse for his bloody terrorist activities .

@ Giza, Blogging forward ,June Sina....My friends like in neighboring BURUNDI ,power sharing and real reconciliation is the only solution for your Country(RWANDA). For how long do you think you can impose this dictatorship on your people ? How long do you think you can continue to call 90% of your people genocidaire and all kinds of despicable derogatories and impose a bloody dictatorship on them? My friends this is not sustainable ,this reign of terror has no place in a modern world. You better start listening to many of your Smart Compatriots like KAYUMBA NYAMWASA etc. and turn against this dictator whose policies do not represent anyones interest but his and his click of war criminals.

@ congoman we,survivors of Hutu genocidaires and their allies brutality, have it in our hearts to forgive, and as for reconciliation, I don't think that I should be lectured by pro Hutu genocidaires sympathisers, that would be like a Jewish Israeli listening to Hezbollah/Hamas sympathisers, and the logic of reconciliation constantly being talked by Hutu genocidaires, is like telling Holocaust survivors to live next door to Nazis who killed 6Million Jews! In our hearts, we have forgiven, but we have not forgotten. As for your admiration for Burundi,I think you're praising them simply because the butchers (whom you sheltered under Mobutu,Desire Kabila,Ex Far,FDLR allies) are now in power, in a way, you still believe in the hutu power ideology imposed by Europeans.Rwanda is moving forward, and the reason why you're all agitated and seek to destroy Rwanda is due to your deep hate for Tutsis,period, you make me think about those that label Israel as an 'apartheid' state or those boycotting Israel businesses or zionism,but in fact, all those who gang up against Israel or zionism are pure anti semite!

Those who think that pressures or sanctions on Rwanda will positively impact the situation in DRC are either of bad faith or have no clue on the dynamics of the regional conflicts.Blaise@September 28, 2012 9:40 PM has a point. The day Rwanda decides to support any rebel group in DRC, we won't be talking about a movement confined into 2 or 3 localities. It will be something big. And I don't see what could possibly hold Rwanda doing that, if the red line of sanctions is crossed.The government in Kinshasa and allies(Belgium first in line) are working hard to isolate Rwanda. By the principle of reciprocity, I think it is time Rwanda work toward regime change in Kinshasa. Next 3 or 4 months will be decisive.

@ Congoman, in Rwanda, the government is made up of 70% Hutus, 30% Tutsi (for those who are obsessed with ethnic politics), that talk of power sharing is the same Belgian ideology, the most unrepentant colonialists!

@Giza RobertoMy friend you need to stop fooling yourself? Do you really think Rwanda has the ability to Change the regime in Kishasa? This is not 1997 my friend you need to stop fooling yourself. The bad news for you is that the bloody reign of PAUL KAGAME is on its last days and you do not have the ability to save it. Stop believing your own propaganda .the m23 is KAGAMEs kowait.this minority tribal dictatorship of PAUL KAGAME reminds me of the minority SUNI dictatorship of SADAM HUSSEIN. most bloody PSCHO dictators sims to shoot themselves in the foot and PAUL KAGAME is just doing that with his M23. Let's wait and see how far he is going to get .if he thinks that he is more powerful than SADAM,GADHAFI ,MOBUTU,MARCOS,BOKASA,IDI AMIN ...he is fooling himself.

Ref # "I think it is time Rwanda work toward regime change in Kinshasa. Next 3 or 4 months will be decisive."

It took you almost forever to get to confess the true nature of the regime in kigali. Now, you've said it, don't complain when others confirm it using different words. The only difference is, you project it in the future when facts on the ground suggest that this has been rwandan policy since the regime in kagali et al. discovered honey in DRC back in 1995.

Feel free to dream on but my advise would be, adding the reaction of Congolese to your dream will be a nice balance. I say this because Congolese have made up their own mind about kagame and his regime.

Perhaps you owe to acknowledge that in DRC people don't fear authorities as people in rwanda do.

No need to say, you've let yourself carried away by a mean sense of triumphalism.

(1)Coming from NOTHING, conservative figures by the IMF see DRC’s economic growth reaching 8.2. This should burst into double digits by 2014. (http://af.reuters.com/article/commoditiesNews/idAFL5E8KS75820120928)

(2)Rising from its ashes, Gecamines has won cases against vulture funds and is on a buying spree of assets. It will treble its output (copper and cobalt)by 2016, making it one of the world leaders once again much like Sonangol in oil today in Angola. (http://www.iol.co.za/business/companies/gecamines-plans-to-treble-copper-output-1.1391415)

(3)The world leader Swiss food products company Nestle has just inaugurated a gigantic factory in Kingabwa to cater for the entire central Africa including Rwanda and Burundi (http://www.foodworldnews.com/articles/2343/20120926/nestle-inaugurated-first-factory-congo.htm)

(4)The Chinese top ICT conglomerate HUAWEI has just inaugurate a huge world-class ICT training centre in Kinshasa to train the entire French-speaking Africa to new ICT. (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZZK0atFi4CY)

(5)The top Congolese call-centre company First & Future (F&F) has clinched a lucrative deal with the coreen giant SAMSUNG and is poised to be be the leader in the region. (http://economie.jeuneafrique.com/component/content/article/306-telecoms-et-ntic/8974-rd-congo--first-and-future-repond-a-lappel-des-clients-.html)

We can go on and on. In Congo we say “Trop parler peut tuer. Les jaloux vont maigrir”. That is, talking too much can kill. The enemy will die of jealousy.

@ blogging forwardAll we need is a friendly regime in KIGALI and no one cares if that regime is led by a HUTU ,a TUTSI or a TWA anything will be better than this bloody dictatorship that has only brought death and destruction to the region .if the 19 years reing of PAUL KAGAME would'v brought peace and prosperity to the great lakes ,we will all be singing his praises.unfortunately his 19 years bloody reing of terror has brought nothing but endless misery,war,displacements,death and destruction to the people of this region .what was once a bread basket of the entire Central Africa ,has now became a place of hunger and starvation because of PAUL KAGAME and his JUNTA ..this is the reason why he is being called the HITLER of AFRICA and his endless meddling and invasions of his neighbors has now created what is known as AFRICAs WORLD WAR.and caused the deaths of more than 5 million people.this man is a soft spoken monster .

@congoman, and who are you to decide who is elected in Rwanda? Africa world war? you mean when the anti tutsi forces were backed by Robert Mugabe,your mentor and genocide ally Bashir in Khartoum?

Your song about 5million congolese killed, who exactly killed them? Isn't that those Hutu genocidaires you allowed in 1994 (escorted by UN backed French forces, with the full approval of Mobut following the Mitterand request to have his troops stationed in Zaire)?

I would put it even more bluntly:The winners of such games are mainly guys sitting in their suits far away from the mess, being interested in only their own vanity and preferably the money cheques that such a situation is always creating. Some people in Kinshasa, Kigali and Kampala must laugh themselves silly right now about how easy it is to run the show like that.

The only true losers are the little people, whose main purpose is to work in their fields everyday. They dont care about big nationalist gestures, they dont care about "the big plan". In the end they just care about food on their table. Period. But with politicians on all sides that ultimately dont give a rats-ass about the lives of the ordinary "joe" and are mainly interested in money and what they can milk out of this situation, i guess the locals do really have a serious problem on their hand.

even during 1994 Rwanda Tutsi genocide, arms dealers and Bankers made business out of the suffering of our fellow Africans!While we're too busy with Black on Black racism, Corporations are predicting more profits for the future as crisis create instability,instability allow Corporation to maximise profit (their own dictated prices on raw materials,oil,gas,minerals and other businesses), Thomas Sankara warned Africa, but he was laughed at by African Leaders older than him, he had wisdom that most African Leaders are not adopting.

The Pan african dream dies when fellow Africans discriminate one another, murder one another, but Africa renaissance will come when we all acknowledge that the colonialist's strategy has failed Africans, and not those profiting from our division!

There is a determination to ensure that Rwanda is dragged into the Congo mess; this is meticulously worked out and those pulling the strings are doing it from “unsuspected” corners. But they all have common objective in their in mind:“History chews up borders with the same purposeless determination that geology does, as seaside villas slide off eroding coastal cliffs.” (By FRANK JACOBS and PARAG KHANNA of the NYT). And the expected final result is this:

They hope to see DR Congo "chewed up", the same way Sudan and Ethiopia were. The master minders hoped to have found a partner in Rwanda; but I think they realized Rwandans will never take part in such a plan which is not in line with Pan-Africanism spirit of our founding fathers. Today 1st October marks the 22nd Anniversary of the start of the liberation war in Rwanda by RPF. One month only after the beginning of the war, the RPF leadership was decimated in covert operations by French and Belgian Special Forces working with the Habyarimana regime. They claimed victory and convinced themselves to have stifled the revolutionary movement; this was later proved to be a miscalculation. A new breed of junior officers took the reins of RPF, and transformed it into an effective revolutionary force; this new generation impacted African geopolitics the same way their elders did (General Fred Rwigyema and his Group under the command of Julius Nyerere joined FRELIMO bring down the Portugal colonial power in Mozambique; later they brought down the Idi Amin and Obote’s regimes in Uganda). Political cadres and military officers in revolutionary forces are trained to lead independently of their High commands. That is why you saw that Mozambique didn’t fall apart when Samora Machel was assassinated by South Africa Apartheid regime; the later hoped to create power vacuum and subsequent infighting's in Mozambique. The death of Meles Zenawi of Ethiopia proved many to be wrong in their predictions; they hoped to see a rather agitated succession.Back to the DRC, Rwandans always wanted to see the emergence of a stronger united DR Congo. It is the logical choice of any sound neighbor. In 1997 US wanted AFDL forces to stop their advance and not cross the river Congo. But leaders such as Nyerere, Museveni and Dos Sontos understood what was at stakes, and pushed forward the advance of revolutionary forces. (ref: 1997 ZAIRE: COLLAPSE OF AN AFRICAN GIANT? HEARING BEFORE THE SUBCOMMITTEE ON AFRICA OF THE COMMITTEE ON INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES APRIL 8, 1997).In 2003, against all odds Rwanda withdrew from DRC whereas many saw the country as already being fragmented into 3 independent states. It is just sad how our Congolese brothers do not realize what games are being played and will regret it at the end, when they find out the truth.

@ marc hofer,"l'argent est le nerf de la guerre". I have a theory:The further someone is from the front,the more belligerent one will be.always remind me the story of a DSP's commander who ran from Kibomango.He said: while Nzimbi was telling them to resist over the phone,the brave general was crossing the congo river.I don't buy the pretext of any of those forces fighting out there,for what I see,the use of undiscriminating bombing is not exactly an humanitarian gesture.Like A. Engwete said "withdrawing to spare human life" was far from the concern of those soldiers.

@ Gisa,That's hilarious!Really a good one.I found it always funny when one talk about pan africanism and Congo in the same breath.So pan africanism is define as an ideology and movement that encourages the solidarity of Africans worldwide.[1] It is based on the belief that unity is vital to economic, social and political progress and so, it aims to “unify and uplift” people of African descenthttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pan-Africanism-The 1996 war was far from that.It was a score settling expedition.All the countries that took part in it din't care about Congolese but had a score to settle with Mobutu,the Cia guy in Congo who destabilized his neighbors for the West.-The 1998 war:that was the most un-pan African it can get.Again,not for the Congolese.Are you crying about aid?We were cut off the IMF and the World Bank until 2001. What PanAf had to do with Kinsangani 1999?Your Rdf and the Updf squared out there without regard of civilians.How about your expeditionary corp that cut electricity to the whole Kinshasa(6 millions people)?Where was the pan africanism there?2003,against all odd or under pressure?Clinton wasn't there to cover up in reality.It is just sad how our Rwandans brothers do not realize what games are being played and will regret it at the end, when they find out the truth.

No Congolese will disagree with you there. Truth be told, there is no “conflict” between Congolese and Rwandans. It is the “elite” who are pursuing their demonic ambitions of power and money. They brainwash the populace and plant the seed of hatred.

Listen to your conscience and tell me “Why this senseless violence in the Kivus? Why the ongoing unspeakable suffering of the ordinary folk (Congolese, Hutus or Tutsis) in the Kivus? Why?

So before we blame others, we should blame ourselves Africans. We are poor and depend on others for handouts, yet we have time, money and smart to wage endless wars.

But I firmly believe that without the “African Great Lakes war gamers”, people of the region shall enjoy peace and prosperity. People forget that for example neighbors France and Germany were once “sworn-enemies”, today they are closest allies.

@Gisathe point is one should not be fouled by the 1996 success(5/6 allies).General Kabarebe learned his lesson in 1998(2/3 allies).The only people who are scared of the RDF are the one they trained before.I will be curious to see the RDF repeat their epic journey toward Kinshasa without popular support.You didn't learn from RCD,don't you?

Dont listen to Kagame propaganda, Rwanda invaded Zaire at the time because Mobutu lost population support and Mobutu has destroyed Zairan army.

There have been fighting but no serious one from Goma to Kinshasa, when DSP blocked Rwanda in Kenge, losses were enormous if it wasn't for Mayele, then Former chief of staff and one of the conspirator, who ordered DSP to retreat Rwanda would have never reached Kinshasa.

Don't forget all soldiers who faced you in Rutshuru, who, for days without food and water, fought until the last bullet, they retreated only when they had empty amo cases. If they were properly supplied you would not have got all your territories.

This is just to emphasize that your feeling of military superiority and "owner of true determination" is highly over stated.

Spend time making peace instead of spreading rubbish theory about panafricanisme or blalala....our traitors wont stay for long and your bankroller are getting tired of you.

@Blaise,If I am not mistaken, the whole issue on table is that +/- 40 thousands FARDC, and half of 17,000 strong Monusco (with Tanks and HC Gunships) are trying to justify their humiliating defeat from 600 soldiers of M23 because “they are receiving logistical and training support from RDF”. So this is more telling about the state of mind of these forces. What lesson did James Kaberebe learn in 1998? James mission’s was to secure safe passage back home for two battalions of RDF soldiers who were left in Kinshasa. He succeeded when he reached Kinshasa, joined with those men and withdrew back into north of Angola; they managed to capture an airport from where they were airlifted back home. This was a successful operation. By the way, do you know what position James had in RDF before he joined Kabila father? He was a simple battalion commander with the rank of Lt Col.As an African, I was really disappointed how we missed the opportunity to see a new Congo raising after 1997 revolution. And I can see history repeating itself.

I saw your CGI comics project with Congolese characters on your blog. They are beautiful, so realistic and just slick. I don’t know the language that you will use, one reckons it would also be nice for an English version. For obvious reasons as Congolese our vocation is to compete with the best in the world using all modern and practical tools.

That said, anyone who was a kid in Congo in the 1980s and early 1990 would fondly remember the good old days with cartoonists like Barly Baruti , and BD characters like Shamazulu or Satongebia… Those were the days!

Today this clueless DRC government seems slow to understand the importance of shaping int’l positive perception about the country, “nation building” and selling the country through culture and sports as Mobutu did and even propaganda.

But thank God, there is an amazing renaissance in culture and sports driven by individual Congolese. Like Djo munga, many Congolese are spending their money, time and talent to bring to the world the real image of the Congolese and that most beautiful land of ours.

I stumbled upon these interesting links:(1)This nice website gives a synopsis of Congolese arts and culture icons (http://www.congocultures.net/)(2)It seems Congo-Kinshasa is the capital of African cartoonists. Check out: ( http://membres.multimania.fr/apema/salonafricain_bandedessinee.htm)(3)This first Congolese animated film “Kayembe le tenace” is a hit in Congo(http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jvIpXXDc9IA&feature=related)

Libya Rebels...backed by the West too,Nothern Ivory Coast muslim majority took up arms as they felt they were being discriminated,often labelled to be Citizens of Burkina Faso...West and the UN helped Ouattara's Rebels to overthrow Gbagbo.

Nice try! James Kabarebe's mission was to topple LDK in Kinshasa. One recalls how Rwandan officers taunted Kabila loyalists as they dove up the Matadi road from Kitona towards Kin. Suddenly from out of nowhere Angolan armor and Zimbabwean air power proved a game-changer (partiularly at the chokepoint at the Inkisi bridge).

Thrown into disarray, the Rwando-Ugandan invasion force was forced to turn to the Americans to extricate them from disaster. Madeleine Albright negotiated with Dos Santos and Mugabe for a "graceful" withdrawal into UNITA-held territory. Both Mugabe and Dos Santos were happy to acquiese to American requests...the latter, in particular, had been eager to improve MPLA relations with Washington.

Not sure how this translates into a military victory for James Kaberebe...but it did prove a turning point in the Clinton Administratuion. Apparently there was a dispute between factions who favored maintaining the territorial integrity of the DRC (Richard Holbrooke, Thomas Pickering) and those who favored some kind of partition. The former had forty+ years of US foreign policy on their side.

Ultimately, the Clinton Administration came down on the side of establishing a UN mission and seeking a political settlement that would maintain the territorial integrity of the DRC.

@ Gisa,Let's stick to the facts and stay away from propaganda:- I break down for @James S the minute by minute account of James K's Odyssey.I don't remember in which thread (maybe in July). @bfhend gave you the summary of the idea.There was no RDF troops left after the last one took the plane unless they infiltrated the Banyamulenge's group that "mutinied" shortly after.Got to check that one.By the way,the backbone of an army is those junior officers that you are so dismiss of: Generals outlines the strategy,"juniors officers" execute the action.Do you know that the US Army is worry because they are losing too many of they junior officers due to early retirement?Do you know who device the counter insurgency theory?Not McCrystal or David H. Petraeus but Lieutenant Colonel John A. Nagl at that time captain?-600 against 40,000 thousand now?Looks like the numbers keep climbing.James Kabarere talked about 20,000.Where do you got all those numbers?You went an count them?It's like your 95% of IDP. You criticize international NGO and the UN but you are happy to report the numbers that fit your narrative.Numbers,numbers,numbers!Do you know that the Cndp "police" was still operational?Even general Kabarere was wondering how they went from Masisi to the Rutshuru intact. Again,I never sugarcoated the short coming of my Fardc. There is no bad troops only bad commanders.In this case,we have both.Which forces composed the Fardc in the East:- guerrillas mai mai fighters who have been improperly transformed into soldiers- rebellious force that kept their caches -Regular army that have commanded by no carrier officers who had they promotion due to who they know.That's another thread we discussed earlier in July.Bottom line,there is contradictory orders going on overthere. The one who is nominally the region's commander doesn't have free hands on his troops. The chain of command is high-jacked.You may check the introductory of Sun Tzu's art of war to understand what that means(when he trained the king's ladies and decided 2 cut the favorite one's head)Fact: the responsible of logistics for the whole army is an ex cndp.A lot of intelligence officers in the East are ex cndp.Even the RDF wasn't stupid enough to put the ex FDLR High Commander in his active force but they were eager to weight on the decision to put ex rebels in position of command.Tell me about good faith!

How about Monusco?You have Indians and Pakistanis making the bulk of it.Guess what?they are sworn enemy.Beside,if I'm not mistaken,your forces stayed in the Kivu for 5 years,how peaceful those provinces were?Did you defeat the Fdlr?FYI,war cost money,good luck with the conflict mineral.I don't think it will be easy to get away with it this time.

I'll try and blend past comic characters with contemporary ones, to make everyone happy.The question of language hasn't been that easy to compromise with. However, Lingala, French and English will be used side-by-side.

It also puzzles me, why the state hasn't used our biggest resource(culture) to unite Congolese and also Market it abroad.A tiny country like Jamaica, has done well at using positive culture as a weapon to unite the people and also market the country.

That's why its imperative we use all the means at our disposal, to liberate Congo with a positive culture.The power of positive culture is limitless...

Oops, I was factually incorrect - in 1998 we were talking about thirty+ years of US foreign policy in an independent DRC. At Vanga/Milundu in Bandundu province where I grew up (my father was directeur-general @ the ecole secondaire) we just celebrated our centennial anniversary.

Please forgive the mistake of a decade or so over the course of a century.

Sometime I find it difficult to ignore factual distortions found in comments here. In any ways the possibility for us to have an impact on the crisis in eastern Congo is limited to this kind of discussions among citizens and may be lobbying politicians through public opinions.I am a PhD Candidate, in Environmental Engineering, with specialization in construction of Hydro power plants; when I go back to campus in China next month, I will be happy to have had the opportunity to contribute on this blog.My concerns as a citizen are to avoid fratricidal wars with interests that are not well defined and maybe even not ours.Ordinary people on both sides of the border have much to gain in a good neighborliness. For example I was reading somewhere that a few days ago, the city of Goma was the first in eastern Congo, and the second in the country after Kinshasa, to be served with broadband internet connection via the fiber optic network covering Rwanda. That is the kind of cooperation which responds to the aspirations of our peoples.

About the 1998 war, dubbed the first African World war, you have your version of history and we have ours. 30 years from now archives will be open to the public and the truth may finally come out. And I am not interested in boasting RDF’ exploits of wars; but I am proud of them and the job they are doing. I just wish DR Congo could have the same effective security institutions so that finally all negative forces are dealt with. But it really is erroneous to interpret as a sign of weakness, any desire to reason each other. In fact, that is sometime the problem dealing with you Congolese. You always hold head high and bulging chest when it is about talking and discussing, but when it comes to speak through the sounds of guns you run the world seeking support and accuse others of being responsible of hostilities that you started.

DRC's agriculture potential can feed 50Billion people,DRC's energy potential can power the whole African continent, DRC's forests are an important asset,equally to the Amazon, I just wonder why DRC Government have not managed to take care of their own citizens, and still rely pretty much on foreign aid.

the was a time when some people in east africa saying Congo wants to join the East African community something which was not true at all. Congo did not even want to join the Community of great lakes but because of the war they were forced too. congo would prefer to persue interest with SADC countries which have much stronger economies and no enemies

"it comes to speak through the sounds of guns you run the world seeking support and accuse others of being responsible of hostilities that you started."That's unnecessarily insulting and far from the truth.Don't confuse series of botched operations for cowardliness.You said yourselves more or less among other reasons why the Fardc are the way they are now. I'm proud of my boys and girls who are keeping their heads up despite the circumstances.We are organizing to help them out, God willing,they will have their honor back.That's a promise.

@Blogging Forward How many Zairians took part on your genocide?For those who cause suffering to the people of Congo, God will bring justice to your door:.http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vLV9szEu9Ag&feature=relmfu

M.Phd, I wont talk about my academic credential thinking that it will give my arguments more weights.

Black is black, white is white and killings are killings. You go through a reasoning that I dont understand for proving a concept that Im not sure you understand. If you really care for panafricanism and love between son of the great lakes then : 1) condemn M23, 2) ask your beloved Kagame boy to withdraw from Congo, and please dont forget all your Ntaganda and other Rwandese infiltrated in Congo.

All your statements are awkward and weird. Preasing love and unity but encouraging your brothers who are killing and at the same time blaming the whites for these same killings ???!!!!!

@Toko and Blaise, I don't deny Burundi's responsibility in DRC's conflict, and the Man who led the invasion (Major Pierre Buyoya) is the same who allegedly involved in the assassination of Melchior Ndadaye in October 1993, but isn't that strange that he is appointed by AU to mediate in African conflicts? isn't that strange that the same Major Buyoya is commissioned by Francophonie to mediate in Africa? Hear me well, blame those Guys like Major Pierre Buyoya, but not put us all in one box saying 'Tutsis' plan to annex Congo. As for my claims on Zaire's government participation in 1994 Rwanda Tutsi genocide, I read those information from western media news medium,read Linda Melvern's book.

@Blaise,I don't doubt for one second that there are plans to partition DRC, but I just don't believe that Rwanda are the main beneficiairies as some like to claim! The planners and backers are much bigger than Rwanda, or Tutsis!

@Blogging Forward The subtitle of the book is "the role of the west in Rwanda's Genocide". Was Zaire part of the West 2?I found it disturbing that people will cherry pick events to condemn some and whitewash others.If you want to blame somebody,why don't you start with America. Wasn't it the Clinton administration,with those two idiots(Albright and Rice) who vetoes demands to increase the size of the peacekeepers?Dallaire said it will have made the difference. Did Us aids made gave you amnesia?It even curious that the same Us invited then major Kagame to Texas for a formation in the 90.How hypocritical from you!Melvern even cite Egypt as providing machetes! Still don't understand this madness?You mean to tell us that nobody crossed to Zaire and has his/her life saved?That while the genocide was unfolding,Faz was standing in the borders,shooting on sight?That's really disturbing distortion of history. You want to keep the morale high ground?Condemn all the killings.Murder is murder, those who died in Congo weren't some chimpanzees in the forest but human beings like you.Most of them had the misfortune of having an incompetent government incapable of protecting them.It's really indecent to give people human rights lectures when we look at the mayhem the RDF and allies caused in the East.Cynically,to borrow words from Lenine "one person death is a tragedy(because it's your family member), 5 millions dead,it's just statistic (the hell if you know any of those unlucky fellows).Do us a favor,mourn your dead as we are mourning ours,don't insult us by getting us involve in your family feud.By the way,how do you know that there is x amount of Hutu and x amount of Tutsi in the gov?I thought you guys were a pure society,not obsess with those mere details?Another of you guys contradictions like your pseudo pan Africanism?

@ Blaise, Man, you have some rage!Look,believe what you want to believe in, and defend whoever you want defend,it's not for me to force it down your throat!

Like it or not, Zaire and DRC were involved in the genocide against Tutsi in both Burundi and Rwanda, and from 1964, Congolese did a manhunt on Kinyarwanda speaking communities in Congo, and in 1965, Mulele militias together with Tanzanians,Burundian Hutus (an estimated 25 000Men) stormed South of Burundi and butchered an estimated 10 000 Burundian tutsi, that tradition has continued for years with complete impunity, as you say, mourn your People,and we'll mourn ours!

As for the figures in Rwanda's politics, it is sourced from a New York based journalist.

Be mad as much as you want, but don't pretend that Congolese are innocent in genocide against Tutsi in the African Great Lakes!

@ Blaise,and about aid, I don't think that anyone from the Congo can lecture anyone about being independent from aid, from Mobutu, to Moise Tschombe, when handed cheques, they betrayed their own citizens, talking about amnesia,huh?

@ Blaise, I guess Belgian Minister Didier Heynders and his allies gave a huge cheque to Congolese Politicians to make false allegations against Rwanda,huh? when will your politicians learn? when Kabila's replacement is picked,they'll bring another Folk to replace him, only to protect their interests,it's not about loving Congolese,you're fooled.So go ahead and travel around the world in their capital,and be fooled by all support you can possibly receive, boast about how giant is your powerful support or indeed,how huge is the Congo, learn this, you won't go far by squeezing tiny Rwanda, remember David Vs Golliath? hahaha,@ Toko, you guys are Clowns,Man!

@ Blogging Forward When you talk genocide I was referring to the 1994.Do you know,my friend,that the term genocide has a juridic definition and scope? http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/GenocideThat means,someone can come and wipe out your whole village without automatically being framed as genocide.I don't know who did what when Moses was still a baby and I don't care.I know for sure that everybody out East has some blood in his/her hands or they know somebody who does.I won't either give a blank check to whoever engaged into mass killings.To the aid no event, I don't know if you guys have a script you have to read in public every time the world "aid" is spell out in a conversation,regardless of the context,but I don't give a rat about that.I said "why don't you blame the USA for using his veto to prevent an escalation of the killings?".You including Zaire in your hit list,shall we not ask why?I remember David and Golliaths like Laurel and Hardy, Quick and Fluke,Tintin and Milou,Mbo and Mpia,Kingandi and Yakutula,etc."I got it from a NY journalist": so because a Muzungu said so,it's true,right?You should practice your own preaching. When Hugo Chavez, Ahmadinejad or the Chinese are saying "screw the occident" they mean it,they walk the walk,they don't just talk the talk.Why do you want to blame people who didn't state they are pure pan African like you?We just calling on your statement.You don't know tht the Fardc and Bur are working against those rebels?How small do you think the forests in Drc are?About the other platitude find someone else to listen to those puerile arguments.

@ Blaise, before I left Burundi in 1999,I lived with Congolese Neighbours, my Mother employed Congolese,I went to School with Congolese,I had neighbours who were Congolese Diplomats,since then,Congolese changed into xenophobic Africans, shocking!

@ Blaise, so, for you, it is acceptable for Burundi Army and Uganda Army to be on DRC's soil in their 'pursuit' of Burundi and Uganda militias, for you and DRC's government, it is acceptable that Uganda is given drones to 'hunt' LRA and ADF on DRC's soil, but you object to Rwanda tracking down Ex-Far and interahamwe (FDLR)? You're biased,period!

@ bloggingThe was a joint military operation between the Rwandan and Congolese soldiers in order to hunt down the FDLR. So the issue of FDLR was being addressed and Rwanda was aware of that. the problem with Rwanda is that they do not want to loose control or influence in eastern congo because of economic interests that is why the world is no longer buying their story of being under threat from the FDLR

The report from the International Crisis Group is out Here is the briefing : http://www.crisisgroup.org/en/regions/africa/central-africa/dr-congo/b091-eastern-congo-why-stabilisation-failed.aspxYet again another insightful analysis except for the propose way 2 deal with Bosco n the M23 leadership.I don't see them going to the Icc on their own unless defeated.Maybe it will be more realistic to work on those truth and reconciliation commission and to honestly go from there forward with real solutions.

@ Blaise, Bosco Ntaganda is no Angel, but what I am saying is that the international community (with Belgium leading) are blatantly biased, how do you explain that ICC did not convict FDLR Leader? All FDLR Commanders move freely in Western Capitals, so, ICC is not exactly fair in their campaigns! You could make the same argument on Ivory Coast, Libya, why is it that no one at ICC seems to be keen on challenging crimes committed by Libya and Ivory Coast Rebels?

I say it again,Nkunda and Ntaganda are no Angels,and so as the other Rebel Leaders in DRC,DRC Government and Army are not either!

I think the big problem there is impunity.As long as people will feel that they can do whatever they want without consequences,it will be revenges after revenges.Only justice can bring peace.(my opinion)I don't know how it will look like but all I know is that I don't want my country to have the dubious honor of sending war criminals in the Hague.There is a need for reparation out there.The same way Gacaca tribunals tried 2 heal your wounds,the same way justice has to be done.Whoever that committed a crime shall receive a just retribution and his/her victim compensate. We don't need a justice vindictive but a justice reconstructive.

@ Blaise, about Egypt arms supply to perpetrators of 1994 Rwanda Tutsi genocide, you forgot to mention that French Bank paid for those arms, and you forgot to mention that 6arms deliveries were shipped from the UK between the period of April and July 1994, after RPF advance in July 1994,the same UK based Arms company continued to supply weapons in Kinshasa and Eastern Congo, those involved in the supply of arms are not just Russians,there are more Viktor Bouts:

@ Blaise, anti Rwanda activists and campaigners seem to enjoy making immoral attacks saying 'Rwanda uses the excuse of Genocide to bully...Rwanda uses the excuse of sending their Army to DRC to track down Genocide criminals...Rwanda uses the excuse of hunting down genocide criminals for economic gains in DRC...' Isn't that the same kind of hate speech by Iran President? No wonder why DRC government is an ally with Iran,right?

It was right for Western Nations to walk out whenever Iran President makes incendiary statements, and it was right for Rwanda President to walk out when clearly Belgium is once again inciting hatred against Tutsi in their lobby at the UN,a clear provocation to us all survivors of Genocide:

But president Kagame didn't walk out because of what the Belgian FM was saying. Didn't the Rwandan's delegation stayed?Wouldn't it be logic for the whole delegation to leave if it was a gesture like you are alleging?As for the Rwandan Genocide,I never pretended to be an expert in the matter.My question was simple:how many Zairian were involved in it like you stated.Was Mobutu supplied men and ammo to is counterpart? That was my question.About the 10,000 massacred back in the day, my question is again,how do you know they were Zairian involved?Was it a Hutu/Tutsi continuous feud or a large scale conspiracy?About Iran,it was illustrative not an endorsement.Bottom line,accusations can go both ways.It's not black and white,there is no angel or demon here,but human.Like someone said"tant qu'il y a des hommes,il y a de l'hommerie"

@Blaise,Mobutu's relationship with Rwanda genocidal government is no secret,from 1990's,Zaire's Army together with French and Belgian Armies supported Rwanda's Juvenal Habyarimana,this is disturbing considering the history of Belgium's involvement in inciting hatred against Tutsi,and eventually Belgium's participation in 1959 Rwanda Genocide against Tutsi together with Parimehutu!That's why no Genocide survivor can ever trust the UN!!!!As for our opposition to those who continue to stir up trouble against Rwanda,you won't get far, freeze up as much aid as you possibly can, God will pave a way for Rwanda,with or without the international support, which international community contributed by the way to 1994 Rwanda Tutsi genocide of 1.2Million People!!!!! As for your conspiracy theories, you're fooled by listening to the same Agents sent by those true forces seeking to destabilise DRC and Africa as a whole!!!!If anyone has learnt from how Moise Tshombe and Mobutu were used, it would be foolish to listen to countries like Belgium (Congo's resources profiteers from 1800), but it is not for me to dictate to you who you listen to.

King Kagame freaks out and curses everyone, his generous benefactors in the IC first.(http://www.newtimes.co.rw/news/index.php?i=15136&a=59156)

He says strange things, here are 3 of them:

(1)He says: “If Rwandans at any moment feel that I am not defending their interests as I should – please let me know and I will step down immediately”Wow, really? How would Rwandans do that if you have completely muzzled them, and you are in fact a “semi god”?

(3)He waffles on about foreign and int’l pressure. Look, our Rwandan brothers should realize that self-deceptive propaganda is different from economic reality. Rwandan is the only country in the world that depends solely on foreign handouts. The AgDF gimmick will take 30 years to make up $2 bil/year of public foreign aid that Rwanda receives. How about aid through int’l NGOs?Also, the victim mentality and the exploitation of “genocide-pity” will not work forever, donors’ economies are in trouble.

In shorts, this loony and his worshipers live in their own parallel world.That is why this is the time to cut any foreign aid to both Rwanda and DRC until they stop the ongoing human tragedy in the Kivus. As for the M3 mob, the defeat of Al-Shabaab (100x more dangerous than M23) is awaiting them.

French Minister traps himself by saying 'the protection of Congo Forest,I beg your pardon, the forests of Gabon and as a whole...', powerful nations will fight to control DRC, with Western Nations leading:

There were extraordinary things in his speech. However, I simply note that we've seen far more defiant despots with far more sophisticated dictatorships to be impressed by king kagame's latest hysterical fit.

I just read in radio okapi that one of the commander for M23 has returned to FARDC. I also read somewhere that the is infighting within M23 in terms of distribution of income that they are generating. apparently some members are unhappy that all the money is going to Bosco Ntanganda. I really wonder what the future holds.

I know DRC is in a mess but there is more political space and free debate than there is in rwanda. That in itself is a sign that DRC is heading in the correct direction despite all the destabilising efforts from those who are benefiting directly from a weak DRC.

@ Rich, that is the best joke I've ever heard, DRC Government provides more political space? I guess that's why Chebeya was silenced,right? I guess Congolese will vote for Joseph Kabila again,right? Well done,DRC most 'democratic' government...

In case you did not know, there are still problems but DRC offers more space to political opinion than rwanda.

Mind you the equivalent of the main Congolese oponent (Etienne Tshisekedi) in rwanda (Victoire Ingambire) has been in prison for more than 700 days today, for far too less than half of what Tshisekedi could be accused of.

I can understand your skepticism but you should follow debates at the Congolese parliament, follow any TV debate or even read the Congolese press in Kinshasa to make up your own mind.

@ Rich, Victoire Ingabire, you mean the Woman who went to the genocide memorial centre and made a revisionist statement on the Genocide? In Germany,France, if you dare make revisionist statements on the Holocaust, it is a criminal offence!

As for the Congo, it is badly managed, Congo has never had any true Leader except the visionary Patrice Lumumba whom we all respect.

Victoire Ingambire trial failed to show beyond any doubt that she is a revisionist, let alone a FDLR sympathiser. It's a political trial so don't try and defend it here.

As for Congo being badly managed, we don't dispute that but put in front of a choice, I'd rather be in Congo than in a country with a culture of ethnic hatred and genocide ideology. That's my choice but I guess you have yours.

Actually, the Congolese have never lacked for visionary leaders. Even in the run-up to independence there was a contrast between the unitary model offered by Lumumba and the decentralized federalist model favored by Kasavubu (Kongo), Tshombe (Lunda), and Kalonji (Luba). The federalists tended to represent longstanding precolonial polities.

Cold war geopolitics and external economic interests were able to exploit these divisions within the Congolese political system.

Rightly or wrongly, American diplomats during the Kennedy/Johnson years tried to bring Kasavubu and Tshombe factions together. Individuals like Gizenga and LDK took the position of their martyred leader.

Mobutu brought the army into the equation and established a presidential system - sort of along the French 5th Republic model. All the leaders I've mentioned understood the importance of establishing a Congolese national identity - they were divided by differing systemic models.

I'm not sure the systemic question has ever been resolved - that is for the congolese electorate to decide within the context of a vibrant parliament and a free-thinking media.

Rich is quite right, there is a debate going on within the DRC that Rwandans can, at present, only look on with envy.

“Peine perdue”. It is useless trying to reason with these mere nigglers; they can’t debate either conceptually or factually. All they do is little fear mongering and flooding the place with off-the-wall conspiracy theories.

It often baffles me that Kagame supporters want “democracy” in Congo but tyranny in Rwanda. What is certain is that Congolese people are committed (albeit arduously) to have a pluralist and democratic society. Kudos to the Congolese opposition, CENI reform is underway. Can you imagine this in Rwanda: Hon. Jaynet Kabila criticizing her “twin-brother” government on oversight of national census, or the Congolese opposition call for impeachment of JK for treason, and no one has been killed yet. In Rwanda, anything different from what the “messiah” Kagame says and you become automatically genocidaire retrospectively.

Look, the tide is now turning.It seems “true Congolese fellows” in the M23 gang have seen the TRUTH. There are more defections to come. All we Congolese want is to rebuild a prosperous and democratic country.

@ Rich, I expected you to defend Victoire Ingabire, as most Congolese do. As for your choice of to live 'away' from a country with a culture of ethnic hatred and genocide ideology, well, you're living in a country where your fellow Congolese are sheltering Genocide criminals going back to 1965!!!

by the way, Human rights watch published a report urging DRC Government to deal with injustice suffered by Banyamulenge:

Remember August 2004 too when your Mai Mai,interahamwe,FNL PALIPEHUTU (the other group your People support) slaughtered 160Banyamulenge (Youngest victim was 3Months old),this was done on Burundi's territory just as Congolese Mulelist with Palipehutu,Tanzanians did it in 1965 and 1972 in South of Burundi murdering Tutsis as usual

If you are camping on this blog to try and find or blame someone for the existence of FDLR I would advise that you decamp because you are not going to get anywhere expect meeting your frustration again and again!

FDLR is a negative force and any sound minded person, like the majority on this blog, can never condone what they are what they do and what they stand for. The same applies for the other negative forces found in eastern DRC.

So repeating your chorus on anti tutsi as you are, is getting quite desperate and boring.

2 more high-ranking officers of M23 surrender to FARDC with their men and weapons. (http://radiookapi.net/actualite/2012/10/07/ituri-deux-nouveaux-officiers-proches-du-m23-se-sont-rendus-aux-fardc/)There will be more. Congolese people will prevail!